Inside the Hokage Office, the air was thick with silence. Hiruzen Sarutobi sat alone at his wide desk, his aged fingers quietly leafing through a stack of old documents. A sliver of sunlight cut through the blinds, illuminating the yellowed pages of archived reports and student records.

His eyes narrowed as he paused on a particular file: Uchiha Gen.

Among the countless Uchiha files housed in the archives, Gen's was unremarkable at first glance. No standout mission record. No exceptional feats in battle. Just another faceless name among the fallen. And yet... something about this one drew his attention now.

He flipped open the folder, scanning line after line — academic scores, behavior reports, ANBU observations.

Just then, the door creaked slightly as Kakashi Hatake turned to leave, awaiting orders to seek out Jiraiya.

"Wait a moment, Kakashi," Hiruzen called, his voice low but firm.

Kakashi stopped, turning with a curious glance. "Yes, Lord Hokage?"

"I was reviewing the Academy records and noticed Uchiha Gen was in your class," Hiruzen said slowly, as if tasting the name. "Do you remember him?"

Kakashi furrowed his brow. "...Not really. I think his grades were worse than Obito's. That's saying something."

He paused, then blinked as if recovering a long-buried fragment. "Actually... his theory scores were high. Really high, now that I think about it."

Hiruzen nodded faintly. "Yes. His practical scores were low, but his written work was... precise. Thoughtful."

He picked up a scroll tucked among the files and gently unrolled it. The parchment was lined with elegant handwriting, calm and refined — too mature for a boy his age. At the top, in bold ink: "My Dream."

"This is an essay he wrote during his final year at the Academy," Hiruzen murmured.

Kakashi stood still, silently observing. The name still felt distant. But as the words were spoken aloud, something strange stirred in the back of his mind.

"I have a dream..." Hiruzen read solemnly.

A pulse rippled through the air — subtle but undeniable. Kakashi blinked, his Sharingan eye giving a faint twitch under the forehead protector.

He raised a hand to his temple unconsciously. A dull throb began to pulse behind the cursed eye.

"Dream... wish... love..." Hiruzen continued, voice taking on a reverent tone. "The ideal of building a peaceful world is to use true love to influence the hearts of all."

Suddenly, the Sharingan flared behind Kakashi's eye. He clenched his jaw, his hand reflexively pressing against the pain.

Hiruzen looked up sharply. "Kakashi? Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing," Kakashi muttered, trying to mask the discomfort. "Maybe... chakra fatigue. I haven't been using it much lately."

The Hokage studied him but continued reading:"Love can change everything. Even if I am a narrow-minded Uchiha, I still hope the world finds true peace."

The words struck like needles.The pain behind Kakashi's eye intensified, like an invisible voice was whispering, calling, resonating with the very soul of the Sharingan. Something ancient and unfinished was awakening.

"Are you certain?" Hiruzen asked, now visibly concerned. "That eye... it's reacting to his words."

Kakashi forced a faint smile. "Maybe... Obito's dream was similar. To become Hokage. Hearing this just reminded me of the past."

Hiruzen nodded, but his eyes remained sharp. He continued the final lines:"Everyone in our class once dreamed of becoming Hokage — even the best, like Kakashi — or the most foolish, like Obito."

Kakashi gave a bitter chuckle. "Obito, the fool…"

But the pain didn't fade.

Hiruzen sighed and looked out the wide glass window behind him, watching Konoha's rooftops flicker under the sun. "Children like him... like Shisui... full of idealism, but invisible to us. Forgotten."

"We failed them," he admitted, voice distant. "The Uchiha deserved better."

Kakashi's fingers clenched into fists at his sides. The words grated against him.

What's the point of this now? The Uchiha were dead. Gen unleashed Disaster upon the world. Why mourn only when it's too late?

His voice cut through the room like a kunai: "Lord Hokage... now may not be the time for reflection."

Hiruzen blinked, caught off guard by Kakashi's tone. Then, after a long breath, he nodded. "You're right."

Kakashi straightened, the burning in his eye gradually fading into a steady pulse. "I'll depart at once to find Lord Jiraiya."

"Good," Hiruzen said softly. "Stay safe."

Kakashi exited the room in silence. As the doors shut behind him and the Hokage disappeared from view, he exhaled deeply.

Outside the gates of Konoha, he paused, feeling something... off.

He reached up and slid his forehead protector away, revealing the Sharingan — and then, to his shock, felt the eye blink.

His left eye — the eye that could never close, the eye that endlessly consumed chakra — had moved of its own will.

More shocking still, the constant chakra drain... had stopped.

Kakashi froze, hand trembling as he touched the eyelid. "It can close...?"

The implications were enormous. This eye, a gift from a friend long gone, had suddenly changed in response to a few words from a forgotten classmate's scroll.

No... not forgotten.

Awakened.